Case Studies

The chemotherapy agents which are in current use are highly toxic compounds and are also non selective meaning that in effect the patient is being medically “poisoned” in the hope that the cancer will die first. Prodrug technology allows for the selective deployment of highly toxic drugs into cancer cells, whilst healthy cells are left relatively unaffected.

This research project aimed to design a controlled release drug delivery using PLGA and PCL microspheres in conjugation with hydrogel patches. It is believed that development of such a novel drug delivery system would be use for treatments of many dermatological conditions such as Psoriasis and Eczema.

Over the past decade the ‘superbug’, Clostridium difficile, has become the most common hospital acquired infection in the developed world. Epidemic strains have emerged which exhibit enhanced virulence factors including multidrug resistance, increased capacity to form highly resistant spores and produce significantly more toxins A and B than conventional strains. This project with MicroPharm, a small bio-pharmaceutical company based in West Wales, looks at recombinant fragments based on C. difficile toxins A and B that have been used to raise antibodies in sheep.

My project is in collaboration with Food Dudes Health Ltd, who already have an award winning Healthy Eating Intervention and are now keen to develop a physical activity intervention to tackle the ongoing issue of obesity.

The MPhil project was supported financially by the KESS scholarship which allowed the collaboration of a Welsh SME, PhytoQuest, and the Hoffmann Parasitology research group at Aberystwyth University. This collaboration has allowed for a screen of extremely pure plant-derived compounds, provided by the Welsh industrial collaborator, to be performed assessing the selective activity of the library against a species of parasitic worms of veterinary and biomedical importance.

Student: Thomas Awdry Company: Broadsword Publishing Academic Supervisor: Dr Emily Oliver & Dr Joanne Hudson Motivation in fitness technology This MPhil project is being conducted alongside Aberystwyth based video game and software development company ‘Broadsword Publishing’, and the project is the development of a boxing exercise game through their subsidiary company ‘World Boxing limited’, the… Read more »

Student: Catherine Sharp Company: Food Dudes Health Ltd (SR) Academic Supervisor: Dr Pauline Horne & Dr Mihela Erjavec Currently there is an obesity epidemic, which is costing the NHS millions of pounds. A prevention method to obesity and other serious illnesses, e.g. cancer, is consuming fruit and vegetable. There are more than 40 million preschool… Read more »

By the middle of the 20th century, the decline was so obvious that a number of initiatives were set up in order to stop the language disappearing and keep this important part of Welsh culture alive. Amongst other efforts, Welsh courses for adults were provided across Wales, to help increase the number of new speakers. In 1982, Nant Gwrtheyrn was established as a residential centre, and since then over 25,000 people have attended Welsh classes there.

In 2011, a partnership between Nant Gwrtheyrn and Cardiff University was formed, through the KESS programme. The intention was to combine years of experience in the field of teaching Welsh to adults with skills and knowledge in the fields of research and digital technology. Our vision is that e-learning will help to increase the number of successful Welsh learners. It is therefore important that the e-learning draws on research which shows which techniques result in successful learners.

Anthropogenic activity resulting from agriculture, storm water discharge and sewage treatment has a significant impact upon the transport of human microbial pathogens from catchment to coast. As the global climate changes and storm and flood events become more frequent, it is imperative that we understand how the increased flow of microbial pathogens from land to sea will affect human health and the environment.